Derek Hagan has run a familiar route back to Giants

Noah K. Murray/The Star-LedgerDerek Hagan, shown making a catch during training camp in August, is back with the Giants to provide a veteran presence to an injury-riddled receiving corps.

When the Giants released him at final cuts in September, Derek Hagan was surprised, hurt, disappointed and angry.

“All of the above,” Hagan said Wednesday, one day after the Giants brought him back to help their injury-wracked corps of wide receivers. “I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Okay, what did I do wrong?’ I felt like I didn’t do anything wrong. I came in, worked hard, made plays.

“We all know this is a business and tough decisions have to be made. You’ve just got to deal with it and move on.”

Hagan wasn’t ready to move on. Not from football, anyway. Not even after he went nine weeks without being offered a contract by another team. At 26, he believes he still has plenty of football left to play.

So Hagan continued to work out in Jersey and, about three weeks ago, headed back to his native California to work out in the warm weather at his alma mater Palmdale High School with one of his longtime friends and former high school teammates. For four weeks, he was able to watch football. But after a month went by and visits to the Rams and Texans didn’t result in a signing, Hagan grew frustrated enough to turn off the TVs on Sundays.

But this past Sunday, he drove his parents to Long Beach where they were to board a cruise. There, they watched the Giants-Cowboys game. When Hagan saw Ramses Barden suffer a lower leg injury and not return, he had a feeling his phone would ring the following day. It did, with wide receivers coach Sean Ryan on the other end. After a workout that showed the Giants he was still in shape, Hagan was back with the team that originally signed him in December 2008.

In a time of need, the Giants turned to a veteran who can contribute immediately.

“Oh, definitely, definitely. Because Derek knows this offense, he's been in it, he's played,” quarterback Eli Manning said. “He's been in it a couple years, all of training camp. You don't have to explain what route to run in different options. He's going to know what he's doing. If you throw it to him, you're going to know his body movement and his language.

“He can come in and not lose a beat. And he's a guy who can play several different positions, real smart. He'll be able to help us out a lot."

Hagan, who is wearing David Tyree’s No. 85 after Victor Cruz took his No. 80, said one day of meetings and practice revealed very little has changed with the Giants’ offense. So in some ways, it’s like he never left.

“That’s one of the main reasons I’m back, because I know the offense, I know what’s going on and they definitely know what I can do playing from a receiver perspective,” Hagan said, adding: “As soon as they called me, I was like, ‘I’m ready.’ I’ve been sitting at home, running routes, staying in shape. I’m ready to go.”

Hagan still isn’t sure why he was cut in the first place. The Giants indicated they needed more speed at the gunner position on punts because of rookie Matt Dodge’s strong leg. But rookie wide receiver Duke Calhoun, who was retained instead of Hagan, has struggled in that department.

Asked if he believes he struggled on special teams in the preseason, Hagan replied, “I don’t think so at all. I know I came in and had a great training camp. I feel like I’ve done that two years in a row. If that was the case, I don’t look at it as that. It was a decision they wanted to go with. They made the decision, I had to deal with it and I had to move on. But they brought me back because they know what I can do. I’m definitely glad to be back.”

And those hard feelings? They’ve all been buried.

“When they gave me the call I was just excited. I wanted to play football all season long,” Hagan said. “Working hard since March and catching passes from Eli all summer long for no reason. I guess all the hard work pays off. I had a two-month layoff but I’m back and excited and ready to go. … It’s all in the past. This is a business and there’s definitely no hard feelings. I’m back and ready to make it happen with this team.”